I really enjoyed this book a lot more than I expected I would. Some of my favourite parts of this book are:

1.The growth and character development of Agnes.
2. The interactions with her students.

I'm sure it's by design by I truly disliked Jack's character. His situation seems pretty unbelievable. I have so many unanswered questions about what he was up to any why it took Agnes so long to stand up for herself with him.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing and Lea Geller for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book intrigued me from the beginning, but as I continued to read it. was really slow to get started

As a high school English teacher, I was able to relate to the relationship formed between Agnes Parsons and her group of naughty but lovable middle school students. Lea Gellar's ability to focus on characterization made this novel hard to put down, as readers watch Agnes struggle with an unexpected life upheaval---her wealthy husband has lost all their money and she is forced to flee from California to New York and start fresh, all while raising her baby and discovering who she really wants to be. Overall, a wonderful novel!

From the title, blurb and cover I fully expected lighthearted chick lit. This was so much more. It was delightful, introspective, and meaningful.

This is not to say that chick lit is shallow or meaningless. Those stories often have engaging plots and almost always show great character growth. It's a very enjoyable genre for me, and one I keep coming back to periodically. You would, however, expect a certain kind of book when I say chick lit. This book achieves a level of depth I have not often found in that genre.

Agnes is a trophy wife, and people judge her for it. Overnight, her life is uprooted and she has to hide out in New York. As a middle school teacher at a residential private school. Clearly, as a trophy wife, this is completely out of left field and also out of her comfort zone.

However, we soon find that neither of these things are true. The only reason it seems like it was out of left field is because she chooses to be willfully ignorant. And it isn't out of her comfort zone either - in fact, she is more comfortable than she thought she would be.

So while the plot and the story arc are great, I'm sorry to say that the characters do not reach the same level of finesse and development. It's one thing to create unlikable characters intentionally, and I'm sure Geller has done just that. However, I also believe that Agnes could have been a better developed character for sure, and as for Jack, the less said, the better. Her friend Beeks was NOT a good friend. In fact, she was objectively selfish & mean. If that was who passed for a best friend for Agnes, I kind of understand why she is the way she is.

So I'm undecided on how I feel about the characters, their depth and their personalities. Essentially, I haven't been able to make up my mind as to whether or not I liked the way they were.

Overall, a lovely story with a satisfying end. I especially like what Agnes was starting to become by the end of the book. I look forward to reading more of Geller's work!

Thank you to Lake Union Publishing and Netgalley for the e-arc.

The minute she shoved her thong into the diaper bag, changed into her granny panties and became addicted to baby Puffs, I knew Agnes Parson was going to be one of my favorite characters of 2019! She’s one tough cookie and when life kicks her off the posh beaches of California right into the puffy sleeves of a plum colored down filled “mom coat” as an English teacher at a boys school in The Bronx, she zips up and finds the moxie she never knew she had. Her husband Jack is MIA, her BFF Beeks is over the moon to have her in the same city with her, Principal Jerk is an overgrown bully and her new middle school students just might suffocate her with their cologne; AKA the Wall of Axe but Agnes is determined to do what she needs to in order to get Jack and her old life back, but maybe that’s not the life she really wants anymore. Lea Geller’s cast of characters are lovable charming and hilariously realistic, the story of Agnes’ struggles wonderfully entertaining. Clip your coupons, grab your baby snacks, shed your winter puffy coats, toss Trophy Life in your summer beach bag and get ready to turn some pages!

I couldn't get into this book. I only made it to the 08% mark. This book may have missed the mark for me, but I can see why others like it

What a fascinating book. I was impressed by the storyline and the characters were all well written and complex. Where there are complex storylines combined with intriguing characters the reader experience is magnified tremendously. To have a book that is well written as well as entertaining is a delight. Reading is about escaping your world and entering another one. The word building was phenomenal in this book. Here I forgot about my own life and was immersed in the world created by the author. I would recommend this

A messy contemp about second chances and finding your place. Wish the plot had more going on and that Aggie grown into her own more, but her “middling” evolution is at least realistic. Secondary plotline with the boys carried the most emotion.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Not only is it laugh out loud funny at times, it made me reflect on all the ways we lose ourselves in marriage sometimes (trophy wife or not). Watching Agnes reconnect with the person she is/was/has always been made me feel we should all take inventory sometimes of the person we’ve become. It’s as poignant as it is funny. Kudos to the author on a great debut!

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This book was very unexpected. I thought it was going to be a light, breezy read and it was so much more than that. Agnes is a former foster child who marries into wealth and happily lets her husband be in charge of all aspects of their life when suddenly all the wealth and her husband have gone and Agnes has to learn how to be in charge of herself and her baby girl. There is so much more that goes on in this story and it was a really good heartfelt read.

Thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was a witty, enjoyable novel. I purchased it based on reviews and it did not disappoint! While the characters have their share of issues, this is not a sad story. This was my first Lea Geller book and definitely not my last. Hoping for a sequel soon!

For ten years Agnes has been living in the lap of luxury. Her picture perfect life is amazing with her husband and infant daughter, Grace. She has everything she could ever want. That is until her husband disappeared, all their accounts are empty and she is now moving across the country for a job.

I don’t want to give to much away. This is a definite fish out of water story. I enjoyed the characters and I love how Agnes grew through out the book.

The book was well written and I enjoyed it. I read it in one sitting.

It took me awhile to read this because I didn't like any of the characters. We do get to see growth in Agnes but it just took too long for my tastes. Would recommend to my friends who like chick lit.

This was EVERYTHING. The book was executed with a perfect mix of humor and earnestness. It was engaging and endearing and pulled me in from the beginning, and held me until the last page. It is one of those books that reminded me why I love to read. I finished the book and felt so satisfied and happy.

I think what really makes this book are the characters. I fell in love with Agnes, Grace and most of the other characters almost instantly, and loved to see Agnes' character growth throughout the novel. The boarding school portion of the book introduced some adorable boys into the story. Their antics were so well described and fun, I found myself smiling while reading.

A bullet point list of everything else I enjoyed about the book:
- The book was so well written, I felt like I was there with Agnes in her boarding school faculty housing. I was there with her on the brown couch watching everything happen.
- The timeline of the book and how we got to be with Agnes for a whole year (and all the holidays that go with that)
- Beeks (and her phone calls)
- The teaching moments
- All of the funny anecdotes about children and the messes they get into
- The adorable mom moments Agnes experienced with Grace
- JUST. ABOUT. EVERYTHING.

The only thing I wanted was a longer conclusion and I can’t say for sure, if that’s because I just loved the story enough to want more of it, or if the conclusion was actually rushed. Either way, please read this book. It's a fun, uplifting, contemporary that I enjoyed from the beginning to the very last page.

I enjoyed this story! I loved Agnes and her story. I loved that took her circumstances and pushed forward. I loved her resilience. I loved the motherhood aspect of the story. Geller did a great job with this one.

An amusing, quick read. Not highly developed characters but a lite hearted read. If you are looking for a quick, chick lit book then this should be your next read!

This was slow to start and was a little difficult to get into at first but once the story got rolling, I found the 'light and fluffy' contemporary I expected. I didn't find it very surprising or different to anything that I've read in women's fiction before though. For some reason (probably based on the cover) I might have thought the story and characters would be more comedic, but it was still an enjoyable and entertaining enough read.

We get a small glimpse into the 'trophy life' that Agnes leads as a young mother married to an older man in California. However, that quickly goes downhill as Agnes 'gets a feeling' that something is wrong with Jack when he doesn't show up to their pre-scheduled monthly couples massage. Honestly, I don't really understand how it happened because there was nothing to indicate that something was wrong; so to me the main conflict of the story felt like it came out of left field, but I went along with it anyway. As her life unravels, Agnes has to pick up and move East to start teaching at a private school for troubled boys and to me, that's when the story starts to get a lot more interesting.

I found myself a little 'meh' with Agnes' character at the start. I understood that her upbringing of 'not ever having enough' and constantly pinching pennies strongly influenced her willingness to accept the security in the 'trophy life' that Jack gave her. But her monologues always indicated that she felt like she never fit in and that it was too much outside of her comfort zone. After a certain point though I found myself growing more frustrated with Agnes' willingness to just accept what was happening even though she was being kept completely in the dark. I get that she believed this new life she had to endure in New York was only temporary but the more she was let down by Jack's disappearance, the more I wished she stood up for and focused on herself. It was obvious that although she got used to the trophy life, she found this new life more within her comfort zone, so what was wrong with that?

I did enjoy Agnes' growth throughout the story although it took much longer than I feel it should've because she couldn't stop worrying about her turd of a husband, Jack. He had such control over her life that every move she made she constantly reflected on what Jack would think of it and it was never, ever positive. He really diminished her potential and it was really quite sad and frustrating to see how she was blind to it. I was really hoping to see more of how Agnes grew through teaching 'her boys', the troublemaking middle schoolers who were pretty annoying at first, but quickly won me over with their antics. I think this would've been a much more uplifting and heart warming read had it given a stronger focus to this part of the story. I also liked the growth that other minor-ish characters experienced and how they came together to support one another in the end!

Overall, it was an entertaining story that saw some satisfying growth in the main character. The ending was quite abrupt and wasn't as satisfying as I'd hoped it would be, but I'm glad that Agnes at least grew more of a back bone to stand up for herself and to reach for the life she wanted to lead. I'm glad that I gave this one a go and I'd be curious to read what Geller comes out with next!

Agnes Parsons has been living a pampered life of a Californian trophy wife. All she has to do is look the part and adore her older husband Jack. The rest is organised by her house staff, including taking care of her baby girl Grace. When Jack disappears, his business associate informs Agnes that while she has no money and no house, a teaching job in a New York middle school for boys has been secured and that is where she has to move. Shocked with this sudden turn of events and such a drastic change in her life situation, Agnes agrees and sets out on a journey across the country. She will have to learn to stand on her own feet and take her own decisions, look after her daughter and herself, and, finally, when Jack does re-appear she will have to question her future with him.
At the beginning Agnes is passive and naive in an exaggerated way, but there is so much growth and development in her character. I loved her relationship with baby Grace and how she manages to become a competent and caring teacher.
Overall, it was a lovely, enjoyable read. I would really like to read another book by Lea Geller.

I went into this book expecting a funny story about a fall from the good life to the hard life... it was so slow at first and Agnes isn't likable, as a spoiled younger wife of a man who controls her, and she doesn't seem to mind that he does. When he gets into a mess and she is forced to move across the country to teach at a boarding school, I like how her character develops. Her friend Beeks is hilarious. This book had a lot of potential and would have been better if the beginning had started off better. The main character Agnes could have been more likable if she wasn't so naive and willing to follow all her husband's whims.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.